Central New York far exceeds the state average for small school districts, and many of those could be forced into mergers if a state commission's recommendations are adopted by lawmakers.

Among the proposals made last week by the Commission on Property Tax Relief is one that would require consolidation of school districts with fewer than 1,000 students; districts with fewer than 2,000 students would be candidates for consolidation at the discretion of the state education commissioner.

The commission, chaired by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, made the recommendation as one way to help schools become more efficient and save taxpayers money. The recommendations would have to be approved by the state Legislature to take effect.

Statewide, about 28 percent of school districts have fewer than 1,000 students, according to the report.

But in Central New York, 36 percent of the 53 districts fit that description, according to 2007 enrollment figures provided by the state Education Department. Twenty-six percent of area schools -- in Onondaga, Madison, Oswego, Cayuga and Cortland counties -- have between 1,000 and 2,000 students, the data shows.

Ten of the 12 school districts that cover Madison County have fewer than 2,000 students. Seven of Cayuga County's eight districts would be merger candidates as well.

Of Oswego County's nine districts, four are below 2,000 students. In Onondaga County, nine of the 18 districts are below 2,000.

"There's no question people are looking at it as an option to be considered. The problem is that it's something that's generally not well-received in small communities," Larry Cummings, executive director of the Central New York School Boards Association, said. "The reality is that you could combine several small districts around here and still have a smaller population than some of the medium-sized districts."

Brookfield, in Madison County, is the smallest district in the five-county region, with just 251 students, according to the state data. That's smaller than almost all of Syracuse's individual school buildings.

But Brookfield Superintendent Sherri Morris, like many other local school leaders, said her district is not interested in merging. The issue has come up before, she said, and the school board and community rejected the idea.

"It's hard to envision where we would merge. Our district is already so spread out, and some students are already on the bus for 45 minutes," Morris said. "People are always worried about the lack of opportunity in a small school, but with distance learning and online courses, our students have access to many things."

Community identity tends to be the other main objection to consolidating. Lyncourt -- a neighborhood district in Salina -- is Onondaga County's smallest district, with 334 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Superintendent Michael Schiedo said mergers have been discussed periodically but "it's never really gained ground."

Lyncourt's older students attend Solvay High School, so, he said, they have the benefit of a small community and a comprehensive high school.

"It's not something this community is interested in," Schiedo said. "The big thing for this community is remaining independent. We're not a wealthy district, but we have a good tax base ... and Solvay has great programs, so we're doing OK."

Susan Christopherson, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University, said she doesn't think consolidations should necessarily result in the loss of individual schools. Rather, she said, districts should collaborate on sharing services, particularly in their administration and with regional collective bargaining of teacher and staff contracts.

"People are afraid of losing their schools and, especially in small communities, schools are critical to their economic health," she said. "But it is possible to keep buildings and combine a superintendent or a business manager or negotiate contracts on a larger scale to economize resources."

Many school boards have asked Jessica Cohen, district superintendent of Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES, to lead or help with a superintendent search. Cohen said she always begins by asking the school board if it wants to continue as a separate entity with its own leader or explore consolidation options. So far, all have decided to hire their own superintendents.

But districts are increasingly looking at shared services, either through BOCES or by working independently with a neighboring district with common needs. Payroll, technology and utility purchases, food delivery and sports teams are among the services on which area districts already collaborate.

For example, Morris said Brookfield uses BOCES for such services as physical and occupational therapy, speech and language and staff development.

John Yinger, a professor of economics and public administration at Syracuse University, said he has done studies -- one that he co-authored was cited in the Suozzi report -- showing a significant cost benefit to merging schools with fewer than 1,000 students.

Yinger said geography could be a barrier to consolidation, but communities can overcome many of the other obstacles.

"Communities don't want to lose control over their school and they don't want to lose interaction with teachers," he said. "I think that's a little exaggerated. You can still interact with your child's teacher. You may be a little farther away, but it's not impossible."

Yinger acknowledged, however, that more than cost goes into any school changes. Cohen agreed.

"It's an emotional issue. School boards don't want to do it. Communities don't want to do it. But as their financial situation gets harder and harder, they'll be looking for ways to do more with less, and this might be something they consider," she said. "Within the next three to five years, I think they will be talking about it."

Cohen said the last time there was a big push to require school mergers was in the early 1990s, on the heels of the last state fiscal crisis. She said there were scattered mergers, but there was resistance then, too, and the state education commissioner eventually withdrew his request for authorization to mandate consolidations.

Still, there was some success. The Oneida school district annexed neighboring Sylvan Beach-Verona Common district in 1994. In Chenango County, the New Berlin and South New Berlin districts merged in 1996 to become the Unadilla Valley district.

Even then, consolidation wasn't a new idea. State data shows that in 1870, there were more than 11,000 districts in the state. By the 1950s, there were about 3,000 districts and now there are fewer than 700.

Cummings said he thinks a new wave of consolidation talks is approaching.

"I don't think it's likely the state will force mergers, but it is a healthy conversation we can have over the next few years about what we can do to improve schools," Cummings said. "This isn't something people should be fearful of. If it's not right for a district, then fine, but there's nothing wrong with having a healthy discussion."

Smaller CNY districts

There are 53 school districts in the Central New York region, many of them with fewer than 2,000 students. If the state Legislature adopted recommendations put forth by the state Commission on Property Tax Relief, 33 of them (62 percent) could become candidates for some type of consolidation. Here are those districts: